Romania commissions Turkish-built corvette as Dan and Erdoğan agree NATO Black Sea base relocation

New corvette enters service

On 20 June, at the Istanbul Shipyard, Romanian President Nicușor Dan, alongside Defence Minister Radu Miruță and Chief of Defence Staff General Gheorghiță Vlad, attended the ceremony in which the corvette "Contraamiral August Roman" received the Romanian flag. The ship, built in Turkey under the HISAR class, is part of the Romanian Naval Forces' modernisation programme. It is roughly 99.56 metres long, can operate 21 days without a port call, and carries helicopters and drones. The base contract amounts to 223 million euros (excluding VAT) and covers crew training and logistic support; an additional 42 million euros will equip it with anti-ship missiles, anti-submarine torpedoes and anti-aircraft missiles.

This is an important moment in the evolution and modernisation of the Romanian naval forces, with the entry into service of the corvette 'Contraamiral August Roman'.

The procurement memorandum signed with Romania is the first in Turkey's history, and it is also the first time a country exports a naval product under the NATO umbrella.

Strategic security discussions

After the ceremony, Dan and Erdoğan held talks centred on regional security, preparation of the NATO summit in Ankara (7‑8 July), and economic cooperation. Dan stressed the need to expand the partnership to submarine infrastructure in the Black Sea, including energy and communication cables, and underlined Romania's interest in exploiting offshore gas reserves. Referring to the rotational NATO Black Sea centre, Dan said, "we discussed the NATO Black Sea Centre, which is currently in Istanbul and which we wish to see come to Constanța starting from 2028." The two leaders also addressed the creation of a European civil security hub on the Black Sea, tasked with collecting navigation intelligence and connecting the EU with littoral states, with Turkey playing a pivotal role.

The main reason for President Nicușor Dan's visit to Turkey is the preparation of the NATO summit in Ankara, scheduled for early July, at which extremely important decisions for the entire North Atlantic Alliance, and especially for the eastern flank states, including Romania, will be taken.

NATO Summit and relocation of the Black Sea centre

The bilateral meeting formed part of the run‑up to the NATO summit in Ankara on 7–8 July. Dan wished Erdoğan success for the event and insisted that commitments made at the previous summit in The Hague must be turned into equipment, not just financial pledges. He said joint military production between Turkey and Romania offers important opportunities and expressed hope that the expected visit of Erdoğan to Romania will materialise them. A concrete outcome was the intention to move NATO's rotational Black Sea centre from Istanbul to Constanța starting in 2028. The two countries also agreed to extend the joint de‑mining programme (together with Bulgaria) to protect submarine gas infrastructure.

Political backdrop

While in Istanbul, Dan was asked about the domestic political deadlock back home, where prime minister-designate Adrian Veștea is struggling to secure parliamentary backing. Dan replied simply that Veștea has 10 days to present his cabinet, and that only six had elapsed, adding "he still has a little time left." The remark was brief and did not overshadow the security agenda.